A review for www.residentadvisor.net
‘A Love from Outer Space’ is the cosy brainchild of pals Andrew Weatherall and Sean Johnstone; a third-Thursday-of-the-month get-together that has kept the folk of East London entertained with unique beats and quirky rare musical gems for the past few years. There was no better time to hold a huge Thursday night party than the beginning of the Easter weekend, where the night could be approached with wild abandonment and no fear that usually accompanies school-night-raving. It was also an excuse to celebrate Weatherall’s 3 disc compilation that was due to hit the shops at the end of April - any reason for a party.Weatherall has been labelled a ‘dance music veteran’ more times over the years than anyone would care to mention, but it seems necessary to pay homage to his many years at the forefront of the electronic music scene; making ridiculously good Essential Mixes when half of today’s clubbers were in nappies, producing Primal Scream’s ‘Screamdelica’, playing house, techno, disco, funk, rockabilly and everything in between to crowds across the world. Working alongside one half of the Hardway Brothers, ex house, Balearic and techno DJ, London rave-den Cable resident and future disco spinner Sean Johnstone, this was a team that had mastered the tried and tested combination of a good atmosphere and a no music policy, music policy. Joining them tonight for the ride were Berlin duo Trickski, Daniel Avery under his Stopmakingme moniker and Glaswegian masters JD Twitch and JG Wilkes, AKA Optimo.
Upon entering the club, Weatherall and Johnstone were playing slo-mo creepers of the highest order; music so dubby and sleazy it felt like you’d been hit with a tranquilizer dart upon entering. Traipsing through the dingy corridors and into the smaller second room, Dan Avery was enticing those seeking a little more energy into the fold, with a BPM speed that was still on the ploddier side of the spectrum but with rumbling bass-lines that made your ears itch. Avery AKA Stopmakingme has made a name for himself through his razor sharp productions, regular slots at Bugged Out!, a residency at Fabric and as the founder of Kill Em All. Very quickly it was clear the hype was justified as he showcased a series of records that that were rave-heavy yet diverse and never 2 dimensional; with undercurrents of electro, snifters of acid house and waves of breaks and early 80’s riffs, living up surprisingly closely to his chosen genre description of ‘tight machine funk’. Avery treated his now packed dance-floor to Intruder’s acid house /techno crossover ‘Amame’, and when the decision was made to drop Lil Louis’ ‘French Kiss’, it was received with hollers, whistles and stomping of feet before Optimo took over.
Optimo spent 13 years holding their Sunday night party of the same name at Sub Club in Glasgow, with a miscellaneous music policy and a packed out basement every week. Now touring across the world, this evening it was anyone’s guess what aural direction they would send their listeners: would it be House and Funk? Rock & Roll? Punk? It became apparent very quickly that this little sweatbox was to continue with the tech-house vibes following Avery’s exit, with another two hours of fist pumping to one half of Optimo JD Twitch which was far removed from the ‘sleazy post-punk nuggets to apocalyptic disco bombs’ billed on ALFOS’s original blurb. As much fun as that was, once Wilkes, the second half of Optimo took over (following some sound issues which almost saw the set cut short), it was time to seek out some of these disco oddities that had been anticipated from the evening.
Upon taking a trip back to room one it was clear that the sleazy disco soul vibes were all in here condensed into one hazy package, as the ALFOS guys took back to the decks from Trickski after their 2 hour set. Inebriated groups of girls in frocks and moustachioed guys in shirts waved their arms and sang along under the 4am pink lights as the twosome played their narcotic grooves, until the gaudy strip lights were lit and it was time for the squinting revellers to leave their bubble and journey home. It had definitely been a successful start to the Easter break and a lot more fun than church.
ALFOS will be taking their party as far as Italy and then Brighton over the next few weeks, so why not check them out?
Photo credit: Daddy's Got Sweets
No comments:
Post a Comment